“Questions on Doctrine” and M. L. Andreasen: The Behind-the-Scenes Interactions
Monday October 08th 2007, 10:04 pm
Filed under: Main

I presented the following paper at the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians meeting at Oakwood College on April 20, 2007. It comes from the section in chapter 4 of my doctoral dissertation where I discuss the reactions by Adventists to the book, “Questions on Doctrine.” My dissertation is entitled “Reactions to Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine, 1955-1971″ (Andrews University, 2005).

Perhaps no other book has aroused so much controversy in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as the 1957 publication of Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine. The book was published as both a direct result of and a representative response to the Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences of 1955-1956, involving Walter Martin and Donald Grey Barnhouse on the evangelical side and a number of General Conference leaders on the Adventist side. Questions on Doctrine was to be the apology par excellence of Adventism.

However, when the book came out, it created a great uproar within and outside the church. Evangelical Protestants found themselves divided on the issue of the acceptability of Seventh-day Adventists as Christians. Adventists, on the other hand, saw within their ranks an even greater division. Although the book received a de facto imprimatur from the General Conference, it generated a passionate dissent concerning the book’s treatment of Christ’s human nature and the atonement. Single-handedly spearheading this protest was M. L. Andreasen, a retired theologian. Determined to have Questions on Doctrine censured and withdrawn, Andreasen campaigned against it, denouncing it as “the most subtle and dangerous error” and “a most dangerous heresy.”

In this paper which comes from Chapter 4 of my Andrews University doctoral dissertation, “Reactions to Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine, 1955-1971,” I provide a narrative account of the public and private interactions between Andreasen and Adventist church leaders and draw some general observations on these interactions.

Andreasen’s entry into the conversations over the Adventist-evangelical dialogues and Questions on Doctrine came quite late in the process because he was not one of the 250 Adventist workers selected to give pre-publication review of Questions on Doctrine.

When Andreasen first read Barnhouse’s September 1956 Eternity article, in which he declared Adventism evangelical, the 80-year-old retired theologian became immediately troubled by what he encountered. His concerns centered on Barnhouse’s claims that not only were Adventists denying doctrinal positions attributed to them previously, but also were said to be in the course of changing some of their teachings such as the investigative judgment doctrine. Andreasen was further disturbed by Barnhouse’s declaration that those who opposed the “new position” taken by Adventist leaders belonged to the “‘lunatic fringe,’” and “wild-eyed irresponsibles.”

What actually prompted Andreasen to voice his concerns, however, was Froom’s February 1957 article in Ministry entitled “The Priestly Application of the Atoning Act.” In this article, Froom stated that Christ’s death provided “a complete, perfect, and final atonement for man’s sin” and “a completed act of atonement.”

Upon reading this article Andreasen immediately wrote a five-page response dated February 15, 1957, entitled “The Atonement,” in which he criticized Froom for harboring an “appalling theology” and mascarading it as Adventist doctrine. Andreasen’s central concern was that Froom had put the cross event and the post-1844 heavenly event “in juxtaposition and on the same basis” which resulted in a “shallow and confused” understanding of the atonement. In concluding the diatribe against Froom’s article, Andreasen expressed the deep apprehension that he felt toward the Adventist-evangelical conferences, the articles by Barnhouse and Martin, and the planned publication of Questions on Doctrine: “Adventists will not permit any man or group of men to make a ‘creed’ for them, and tell them what to believe. Too much is at stake. The present procedure is likely to bring results unlooked for. To some it looks like the Omega so long foretold. Some of our brethren, in order to be considered orthodox, have compromised our position.” If the forthcoming book is to contain what Froom claimed to be the Adventist view of the atonement, Andreasen threatened in his April 2 letter to Froom, “I shall feel compelled to protest with pen and voice to the limit of my ability.” “And remember,” he intoned, “there are yet seven thousand in Israel that have not bowed their knees to Baal, nor gone with the ark to Ekron, nor seeking counsel or advice there.”

So began Andreasen’s campaign to invalidate the view of atonement presented in Froom’s February 27 Ministry article, to prevent the publication of Questions on Doctrine, and—after the release of the book—to protest what he viewed to be apostasy and heresy proclaimed in it. On October 15, just as Questions on Doctrine was rolling off the press, Andreasen issued a document entitled “A Review and a Protest.” “If the sacrifice on the cross is complete, perfect, final,” he wrote, “our doctrine of the sanctuary, of the investigative judgment, of the 2300 days, all will fall to the ground and also Sister White’s leadership. This is the most subtle and dangerous error that I know of.”

Having now committed himself to a protest campaign, Andreasen began issuing a series of manuscripts entitled “The Atonement,” following the title of his first manuscript of February 15 and numbered retroactively to that document. Between November 4, 1957, and March 13, 1958, he fired off seven more papers, striking each time at the section on the atonement in Questions on Doctrine. During this time, the only concern he had with the book was with “the section on the Atonement” which he deemed “utterly unacceptable.” As for the rest of the book, he actually commended it as containing “so many good things . . . that may be of real help to many.”

During the same period, the epistolary joust between Andreasen and Figuhr continued. Figuhr responded to Andreasen by refuting his attack on Questions on Doctrine. He denied that the book made Christ’s heavenly sanctuary ministry unnecessary, but simply emphasized “the atoning sacrifice of Christ” in its rightful place in the process of atonement. He pointed out that even Andreasen himself agreed in his Book of Hebrews that Christ “‘accomplished’” and “‘finished His work as victim and sacrifice.’” In reply, Andreasen retorted that Figuhr had not adequately understood the doctrine of the atonement which “is a most profound and delicate subject, one that is not comprehended in a moment or a year.” Hinting strongly that he should have been consulted in the composition of the section on the atonement, he reminded Figuhr that “it takes years and years of concentrated study, which your advisers have not given to it.”

Andreasen’s letter and continued agitation led the General Conference officers to issue a formal letter of admonishment and a demand to cease his activities. In communicating this decision, Figuhr chided Andreasen for inciting confusion in the church. It was Andreasen who was creating “Omegas,” not the General Conference, Figuhr wrote—“Omegas of confusion, misunderstanding and destructiveness that undermine the church of God.” In another letter, dated December 16, 1957, Figuhr stepped up pressure on Andreasen to cease his campaign by implying that his sustentation might be affected: “You are doing yourself great harm and bringing confusion and perplexity to the cause. You should not now be tearing down what, through the years, you have helped to build up. To see a retired worker, supported by sustentation of his church, actively opposing that church and breaking down confidence in its leadership, cannot but make one feel very sad.”

Though Figuhr did not make a direct connection between Andreasen’s activities and continuation of his sustentation, the threat implicit in this letter provoked a sharp response by the elderly theologian. “Your ukase that my continued activities will undoubtedly bring up my relationship to the church of course means that my credentials and sustentation will or may be revoked,” he shot back. “This is a good and forceful argument; but in the United States of America it is a cheap and silly one. It may be effective in cowing inferiors, time servers, slaves, but not men. And of course it is a psychological mistake. Denominationally it is illegal.” Then in the seething tone of a deeply hurt and anguishing soul, he wrote:

“I am a man of peace. I can be reasoned with. But no man can threaten me and expect to avoid the consequences. So I hope you will not renege on your threat, but will carry through. . . . You have threatened me. . . . You have disqualified yourselves by judging without a hearing; the next higher authority is the people. You are upholding the Ministry [sic] which is destroying confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy, watering down the Testimonies, telling plain untruths, etc. On this there can be no compromise. You say the matter is settled, you have closed the door. The matter is not settled and never can be with a threat.”

Then, in a tone filled with intrigue and suspicion, he warned whoever else might be reading the letter: “The observant reader will not have failed to see that the threat is aimed at him [the reader] as much as at me. In fact I am a minor consideration. The real aim is to intimidate others from following my example. Washington is threatening the whole working force of the denomination and using me as an example of what will happen if others should wish to protest.” Finally, Andreasen’s letter of protest turned to one of incitation for open rebellion against the church: “So this is a warning from me to make sure where you stand if you join in the protest. It may cost you much. Our leaders—some of them—have become our masters, and are ready to bear down on any that objects.”

As the new year of 1958 dawned, Adventists leaders across North America were abuzz in reaction to the sharp, rancorous pitch of Andreasen’s most recent letter, with some suggesting that the elderly theologian might be suffering from “a mental ailment.” In early February 1958, however, a potential for breakthrough in the controversy opened up when Andreasen agreed to a meeting the church’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. A far more subdued Andreasen wrote Figuhr: “I am ready to come in good faith” with one condition that “the hearing be public, OR that a stenographer be present and that [he] be given a copy of the minutes.”

The General Conference officers responded quickly to Andreasen’s letter and voted on February 10 to invite him at the church’s expense to the denominational headquarters for a meeting with a specially appointed committee of twelve—all senior church leaders, including Figuhr. In coming to this decision, the officers determined that the meeting was not to be a public hearing, but they stipulated that all the statements would “be taken down on tape and recorded, both for the committee and Elder Andreasen.” Figuhr communicated this news to Andreasen on the same day and suggested February 25 as the date for the meeting.

With this latest exchange of letters, hope for a peaceful resolution to the conflict seemed suddenly within reach, but what transpired thereafter over the course of the following three months to derail this plan remains a rather perplexing chapter in Adventist history. Andreasen was willing to come for the proposed February 25 meeting in Washington, except that his wife fell suddenly ill and was hospitalized. Hence, he requested that the meeting be postponed for “four or five weeks.”

In the intervening time, a big misunderstanding over how the meeting would be recorded led to the cancellation of the postponed meeting. Though the General Conference officers had voted that the meeting “be taken down on tape and recorded, both for the committee and Elder Andreasen,” Figuhr had only stated in his February 10 letter that a tape recording would be made, but not whether Andreasen would be given a copy of the minutes. So on February 21 Andreasen sought a clear answer to this question. “[A copy of the minutes] is necessary,” he wrote, “for in any discussion of what is said or not said, it will be my word against that of twelve.” “I must have a copy of the minutes,” he insisted. “This is the condition upon which I come.” However, Figuhr, as seen in his subsequent letters, misunderstood Andreasen’s demand as wanting a copy of the audiotape recording, not just a written transcript of the meeting. Ultimately, this misunderstanding led to Andreasen breaking off the agreement to meet. Because each side was deeply distrustful of the other, the seemingly less consequential “technicality” over how the record of their meeting would be taken and made available derailed a meeting that potentially might have saved the controversy from spinning out of control to the degree that it did over the following years and decades.

Thus from April 1958 and on, the relationship between Andreasen and the General Conference continued to deteriorate until the very end of the senior theologian’s life. On May 1, Andreasen fired off a letter to Figuhr accusing him of prevarication and requested formally a public hearing on the Adventist-evangelical conferences, activities of those involved with the conferences, and the content of Questions on Doctrine. Beginning with this letter, Andreasen for the first time broadened his focus beyond the issue of the atonement. He continued in his open letters of May 15 and June 4, charging Questions on Doctrine with removing or changing a number of the “pillars” of Adventist theology such as the teachings on the mark of the beast, the human nature of Christ, the investigative judgment, and Ellen White.

In spite of the resumption of open letters and the harsh rhetoric contained in each, one final, albeit perfunctory, overture was made by the General Conference to explore the possibility of a reconciliation meeting. Between May 13 and July 24, seven letters were exchanged between the General Conference officers and Andreasen. In response to Andreasen’s demand for a public hearing, Figuhr offered a hearing at the General Conference Committee. Andreasen scoffed at the notion that appearing before this committee—a large but closed group—could constitute a public hearing and insisted the meeting be completely open to the public—just as Martin Luther’s trial in Worms was made public.

Then in February 1959, Andreasen initiated a new series of missives called Letters to the Churches, with the help of a printer in Oregon named A. L. Hudson. Even before joining with Andreasen, he began protesting independently against “the head-long retreat” that the book was taking toward apostasy in the area of Christ’s human nature—predating Andreasen’s criticisms by half a year.

Along with the nine-part series entitled “The Atonement,” the six-part Letters to the Churches became Andreasen’s lasting theological legacy from this era. The six documents released at various times throughout 1959 contained not only Andreasen’s key criticisms of Questions on Doctrine, but also accounts of his struggle against the book and the church during this time period. Letters to the Churches contained Andreasen’s treatises on Christ’s human nature, Ellen White, the atonement and narratives of his recent challenges against the General Conference in which he raised questions about the doctrinal integrity and moral authority of the leaders. Except for the sections on Christ’s human nature, the content of the letters was not new. Most sections of the letters were condensed and polished versions of the “Atonement” series.

Andreasen’s key concern regarding the human nature of Christ was that the new book presented Christ’s incarnation as a man who was radically different from all other human beings, contrary to what he believed to be the orthodox Adventist position. Andreasen believed that Christ was born in the flesh with exactly the same set of tendencies to sin as all other human beings. Christ’s victory over sin in spite of his innate sinful tendencies was the cornerstone on which Andreasen had built his doctrine of the final atonement and the last generation. The last generation on earth would consist of a group of God’s people who would demonstrate to the universe that it is possible to keep the law of God and live a sinless life.

When Andreasen read the statement on p. 383 of Questions on Doctrine which indicated that Christ was “exempt from the inherited passions and pollutions that corrupt the natural descendant of Adam,” he interpreted the word “passion” as the sum total of “man’s emotions.” Working with this definition, Andreasen argued that to exempt a person from passions would be to take away “all temptations that incite men to action” which “results in a creature less than a man, a kind of no-man, a shadow man, a non-entity . . . .” Thus, Andreasen contended, to state that Christ was exempt from the passions of humankind would be to rob him of his true and complete humanity—and his last generation teachings of its theological basis. The notion “that God exempted Christ from the passions that corrupt men” was for Andreasen “the acme of all heresy” brought in through the Adventist-evangelical conferences.

The General Conference administration responded immediately in February 1959 through a statement to union and local conference presidents in North America. In reference to Andreasen and Letters to the Churches, Figuhr wrote, “his evident purpose is to stir up trouble.” As such, Figuhr did not encourage “creating a great issue over the matter,” as Andreasen “would welcome it.” His continuing position on this matter was that Andreasen would soon blow off all steam and simmer down. At the same time, Figuhr attached Heppenstall’s March 3, 1959, letter to Andreasen to help administrators answer potential questions arising from Andreasen’s attacks.

At the same time, efforts were continually being made on a personal level to dissuade Andreasen from prolonging the controversy. On one occasion, R. R. Bietz, president of the Southern California Conference, asked Figuhr if Andreasen could be encouraged to “prepare a manuscript on the Atonement [sic] without any reference to any controversy” to “keep him busy” and “keep his mind off other things,” such as continuing to challenge church leaders. Figuhr was happy to follow this course of action. This manuscript, if Andreasen would manage to make it acceptable to the leaders, would be published by a denominational publishing house and both sides would be able to save face. Andreasen would be able to state his beliefs and have them published by the church, while the leaders would not need to change anything in Questions on Doctrine. Bietz worked hard to convince Andreasen that “this might be a tremendous contribution that he could make to the denomination,” but Andreasen was non-responsive to the suggestion.

By June 1960, all hope of reconciliation was extinguished and the dialogues came to an insurmountable impasse. Andreasen felt the leaders of the church were united in compromise and apostasy—unwilling to listen to his voice of reason and truth. The leaders felt that all public and private overtures toward Andreasen had been exhausted and that the church was in need of a strong theological response to his charges. It fell upon A. V. Olson to provide such a response—a comprehensive theological critique of Andreasen’s writings. Olson’s document, entitled “An Examination of M. L. Andreasen’s Objections to the Book Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine,” was the most complete defense of the church leaders’ position that appeared during this period, providing rebuttals to eight major objections submitted by Andreasen from 1957 through 1960. In each of his refutations against Andreasen, Olson sought to demonstrate that Andreasen was self-contradictory and out of harmony with the inspired writings that he purported to defend.

The interactions that took place between Andreasen and the church leaders in the final year of the retired theologian’s life were as tumultuous as those that took place in the preceding four years. In his rejoinder to Olson entitled “A Most Dangerous Heresy,” Andreasen reiterated his grievances against Questions on Doctrine. In a departure from his observation three years earlier that “only the section on the Atonement [sic] . . . is unacceptable and must be recalled,” he now claimed that it was the book’s stance on the human nature of Christ that was the most reprehensible.

Upon completion of this paper, Andreasen sent it to Figuhr in October 1960 along with a letter that would lead to the removal of his ministerial credentials. In that letter Andreasen demanded “an open, public trial, before an impartial jury and a competent judge” in which he—acting as the prosecutor—would proceed to “place an impeachment against [Figuhr] and others.” This letter, sent just before the Autumn Council of the General Conference Committee, convinced Figuhr that Andreasen had indeed gone too far and that the church had been patient enough. Figuhr resolved now to “at least suspend the credentials” that Andreasen held. Figuhr’s desire to suspend Andreasen’s credentials at the Autumn Council was held back, however, due to opposition from the North American union conferences who felt that they “should be more longsuffering.”

But when the General Conference Committee met the following year for its Spring Council, the leaders were ready to vote to suspend Andreasen’s credentials. Andreasen had not let up on his attacks against the church and its leadership, circulating at least three more open letters throughout North America, accusing church leaders of neglecting the doctrinal pillars, colluding with evangelicals toward apostasy, crushing and demonizing dissent, and publishing and promoting heretical, apostate teachings throughout the church. On April 5, 1961, the Spring Council voted to “suspend the credentials of M. L. Andreasen until such time as he can manifest a better spirit of unity and harmony.”

The final ten months of Andreasen’s life—between the suspension of his ministry credentials and his death on February 19, 1962—continued to be eventful. As soon as he was informed of the suspension, Andreasen visited Bietz who had recently been elected as the president of the Pacific Union Conference. Without indicating exactly what he wanted from the church, Andreasen talked to Bietz about his plan to release “damaging material to the public press” and to “enlarge his activities.” This proved to be an unfulfilled threat, but Andreasen continued the same course of periodically distributing open letters, though now the protestation of his suspension took center stage. In these letters, Andreasen pointed out what he viewed to be illegal about the General Conference Committee’s decision to suspend him. At the end of the one letter, he wrote a note to Figuhr telling him to beware. “I never give up,” he wrote.

As stubborn and belligerent as he appeared to be at times, Andreasen did not allow his suspension to sever his ongoing, albeit tumultuous, dialogue with Bietz, Figuhr, and other church leaders. In May 1961, another face-to-face meeting took place between Figuhr, Andreasen, and Bietz in southern California during which they were able to converse “in a friendly fashion.” During this conversation, Andreasen indicated that he had stopped sending out letters and wished that his credentials would be restored. In light of this unexpected positive development, Andreasen and Figuhr agreed to draft separate promissory statements that would be agreeable to the other side. The statement drafted by Figuhr spelled out the process of restoring Andreasen’s credentials. It stated that the credentials would be returned to Andreasen after he ceases to circulate documents and forbids others from distributing them. At this point, had Andreasen given even a nominal assent to this statement, his credentials would most likely have been restored in a short time. But he began insisting that the church return his credentials back to him before he ceased activities related to criticizing the church.

Disappointed yet again by the church leaders, Andreasen composed a document entitled “A Protest against the Secret Trial of M. L. Andreasen” on July 2, 1961. In this document, Andreasen narrated once again how he came to protest Questions on Doctrine and charged that the process that the church leaders took to suspend his credentials lacked “fundamental justice.” As he concluded, however, he indicated that the document would not be sent out and directed his attention solely upon Figuhr, calling on him to repent of the wrongs he had committed toward Andreasen and the church. At that point, he had rather pungent words for Figuhr: “I have it in my power to ruin you completly [sic]. I have no intention to do that, if you turn and make amend. But I am of a mind to go all the way unless you undo the evil you have done.”

In his response, Figuhr simply urged the elder theologian to follow through with the plan that they verbally agreed upon in May: “I cherish the hope, Brother Andreasen, that we can arrive at a friendly understanding and move forward in an atmosphere of confidence.” He then indicated that the officers were quite willing to revoke the suspension of credentials if Andreasen would only agree to cessation of activities that they felt were disruptive and divisive.

But on August 2, Andreasen penned another letter which basically served as the rejection notice to Figuhr’s plea for reconciliation. Andreasen took the Adventist Church Manual’s procedure for disfellowshiping members as the norm for all disciplinary actions in the church and strongly criticized the manner in which he was suspended. He demanded a new trial in which he could present evidence and witnesses and defend his position. But in his response, Figuhr pointed out that Andreasen had made a bad comparison as the basis for his reasoning: “There is a wide difference between the disfellowshiping of a church member and temporarily suspending the credentials of a worker.” Furthermore, Figuhr insisted that the primary concern for the General Conference officers was how Andreasen propagated his ideas rather than what he was teaching: “The brethren do not ask that you necessarily retract what you have said, although they are not in agreement with your statements, but they simply want the assurance that, since you have already ceased circulating your material, you do not propose to continue it.”

When Andreasen continued in his defiance and resumed distribution of more open letters, the General Conference Committee voted to further censure him by removing his name from the list of retired workers in the 1962 Yearbook. The committee, however, voted not to withhold sustentation from Andreasen in consideration of his age and health.

While this latest decision was being made at the Autumn Council of the General Conference Committee, Andreasen was on the verge of making another attempt at reconciliation with the church, which raised the hopes of the leaders once again. In a remarkable show of capitulation, he wrote: “I do not wish to argue this matter now. . . . There is a point beyond which protest against what the leaders have done fail [sic] to do any good. I think that point has been reached now. . . . I think I have protested enough, perhaps too much, and that I can safely let God do His work without my help.”

Then, “as a basis for negotiations” and “discussion,” Andreasen suggested that in the future he would communicate with three or more officers of the church, if he felt he had warnings or messages from God. “I feel . . . that I have spoken to the church,” he remarked, “and hence suggest that if I have any further word, I confine myself to some of the chief officers.”

The receipt of this letter elated Figuhr as he wrote back: “I believe, Brother Andreasen, we are on the way to a better understanding and relationships [sic], now that you have come to the conclusion to confine your writing to some three or four individuals of the General Conference.” But back from Andreasen came a completely unexpected reply. In what became his last letter to Figuhr, Andreasen charged that the General Conference president had “completely misread” him and had attributed to him ideas that were not present in his letter. Apparently, while Figuhr had interpreted Andreasen to be proposing unilateral cessation of activities, Andreasen had meant the letter to be merely suggestive—“a basis of discussion” and “negotiation.” For Andreasen this misunderstanding was another evidence of Figuhr’s imperial attitude toward him. “You have decided not to discuss, not to negotiate,” he wrote Figuhr. Hence, he told Figuhr, “I accept your decision that you will not discuss nor negotiate.” Finally, he stated emphatically, “I WILL BE HEARD.”

Indeed, Andreasen was determined to be heard, but his voice was being continually weakened by the deterioration of his health. He did manage to get at least two more documents out, but by early February, faced with a dramatic decline of his health, Andreasen sought to find peace and reconciliation with his church and asked for a visit by Figuhr. On February 16, Figuhr and Bietz visited Andreasen who was hospitalized at Glendale Sanitarium and Hospital. During this meeting the three men discussed frankly the issues of Andreasen’s activities of the previous five years, his suspended credentials and removal from the Yearbook, and financial arrangements for his wife after his death. Andreasen assured the visiting leaders that he did not desire to “engage in any activity which would harm the church” and showed regret over any “doubt and confusion” that his recent writings might have created. He further expressed his desire that his letters and pamphlets not be duplicated for distribution—a message directed especially to “offshoots” of Adventism. Through this conversation, the three men were reconciled. This meeting was especially important for Andreasen because even as he was so deeply agitated by Questions on Doctrine and the General Conference, he wanted to be reconciled to his church. His widow, Gladys, stated that Andreasen had “spent many nights sobbing his heart out” regarding being so estranged from the church. But after this meeting, she reported, he was able to die a “happy” man. Three days after his meeting with Figuhr and Bietz, on February 19, Andreasen died at the age of 85.

On March 1, 1962, the General Conferences Committee voted to revoke its former action to suspend Andreasen’s credentials. It also voted to put his name back on the list of the retired workers in the Yearbook. In addition, the church entered into a financial arrangement with Gladys Andreasen in which she would receive some denominational service credit for the time she accompanied her husband in his speaking ministry. Also, she would receive a generous amount for Andreasen’s funeral expenses and the sale of his entire library to the General Conference.

Thus ended Andreasen’s five-year struggle against Questions on Doctrine and the General Conference. However, the struggle over many of the issues raised in Andreasen’s attacks as well as in his books of the 1930s and 1940s has continued well beyond his death. His final five years made him a pitied figure who lost the high respect he commanded from his active years as a professor and administrator. Many in 1962 viewed those last few years as a period in which Andreasen ruined his own good name by championing what they considered to be a lost cause. However, the theological developments of the past five decades have shown that it is because of—not in spite of—the last five years of Andreasen’s life that Adventists have come to be so significantly impacted by his teachings. Whatever one might feel about Andreasen, his writings and the theology therein—whether appealing or not—continue to impact the faith and beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists worldwide.

Unfortunately, in the process of uploading my files here, I lost all my footnotes. My apologies!

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of my dissertation, email me at: jjnam@llu.edu. In response to inquires about my dissertation, I’m getting 150 copies printed for the upcoming QOD 50th Anniversary Conference.



24 Comments so far

Wow Julius….
You tell it like a true historian. I didn’t realize how interesting and relevant our past can be. I’m curious to know more about Andreasen’s teachings and the way they “continue to impact [our] faith and belief[s]“. Thanks for the enlightening exploration.

Comment by Blue 10.09.07 @ 9:57 pm

Thank you, Julius. Am I correct in understanding that Elder Andreasen’s ministerial credentials were revoked, at least temporarily, but that his sustentation was never suspended? Or was he also “punished financially” for being so difficult? I’ve forgotten what your dissertation says about this.

Comment by David R. Larson 10.10.07 @ 12:32 am

If brother Andreasen had never raised all those traditional and conservative objections, might the church be mostly progressive or quasi-progressive instead of as staunchly conservative as it is in the third world or in mainstream Adventism among latinos and other “people of color?” Depending on where one fits in within Adventism, one has either to thank or withhold thanks from this history-altering minister.

I wonder why Adventist World or the Adventist Review doesn’t cite your article? It certainly isn’t saying anything untrue. Think of the millions of folk who would benefit one way or the other by having access to your very revealing research regarding the changes wrought by brother Andreasen.

I’ve often wondered if Bill Knott reads your blogs as well as the Spectrum blog and a few others? He said he would when he first took office. I wonder if it shows in the articles he selects, or rejects, or if the New Review, as well as Adventist World, are more of the same of what’s gone before.

Thank you for your continuing blog ministry in whatever format you are able to offer it to us.

Comment by Raul Batista 10.10.07 @ 7:23 am

What a spectacle! I’m wondering several things:

Why was Andreasen brought into “the loop” so late? (It’s seems a lot of this could have been avoided if he had been involved in the process somehow.) Was he intentionally excluded? Why was he not asked to help write the QOD? (Who decided authorship of this document?)

This relates a couple other questions:

Why did Andreasen stop teaching at the seminary? (Was it retirement? or was he let go?)
Who replaced him? and did his replacement have a different emphasis/theological perspective?
Who decided that this was better?
Was his teaching/perspective ever officially condemned/denounced by the denomination?

Thanks again, Julius!

Comment by Zane 10.10.07 @ 8:38 pm

It seems that much theological controversy is between extreme views on both sides, which are, in an isolated sense, entirely logical, but divorced from reality and the real world. Delusion vs. Delusion.

Comment by David Vickman 10.11.07 @ 12:07 am

Thank you, Blue, Dave, Raul, Zane and David for your comments.

Blue: Adventist history IS so very fascinating once we get underneath the covers into the personal interactions. The people-story is always interesting!

Dave: As far as I could ascertain, Andreasen’s sustentation was never removed. It was indirectly threatened by Figuhr, but never formally. The GC Committee could’ve taken it away when they removed MLA’s credential but, in light of the frail condition that he was in, they chose not to remove sustentation.

Raul: You raise some interesting what-ifs. I do some of my own in my dissertation, as there were definite turning points and critical junctures in the QOD-Andreasen saga that could’ve changed the dynamics very much. But in the end, I think someone else would’ve taken his role as what he was championing was and has been held by many in the church.

Zane: Andreasen was never “brought into” the loop. He brought himself in after reading the articles in Ministry and Eternity. In my dissertation, I point out that Froom and Andreasen held quite different views on whither Adventism should go. Moreover, it appears that the two never had a good relationship; in fact, there’s always been some tension between the two. That leads me to believe that he was deliberately not included in the list of 125 or so who were sent the pre-pub. manuscript.

You’re asking a whole bunch of questions that are mostly answered in my dissertation in some detail, so I’m glad you’re getting one :)

But really briefly to the rest of your questions.

> Who decided authorship of this document? : GC Committee

> Why did Andreasen stop teaching at the seminary? : Because he retired in 1950 and moved to Glendale, CA.

> Was it retirement? or was he let go? : Yes. No.

> Who replaced him? and did his replacement have a different emphasis/theological perspective? : Don’t know.

> Who decided that this was better? : What do you mean?

> Was his teaching/perspective ever officially condemned/denounced by the denomination? : No

Comment by Julius 10.11.07 @ 11:17 pm

Julius, thanks for your response. I wondered as I read this post how much of this dispute was over something personal (not being involved) and how much of it was theological.

The rest of my questions had to do with the issue ecclesiology/church authority.

My final three questions where unclear, but I was wondering about the official status of Andreason’s “final generation” theology. Is it still something taught at the seminary? If it is not, why not? (Who decided that this?)

It seems that the church should have an official statement on such an important issue. I’m wondering who that person/entity might be.

If there is no official position, why not? Is it to allow a healthy amount of “pluralism” or just a pragmatic concern of not to splitting the church?

Comment by Zane 10.12.07 @ 7:54 am

Why did Jesus have to be absolutely perfect? Could He have been even more perfect? How perfect does perfect have to be? Does Christianity turn the old, old story of Jesus and His love into a fairy-tale with its elaborately conflicting theories of the atonement? Was Christ a Real Man or a Super Man or both a Real Man and a Super Man? Does all of this talk turn many of us into uptight legalistic perfectionists or irresponsible hedonists? Is Christ’s substitutionary atonement necessary for us to be right with God? Shouldn’t we be right with God by being right with God, not simply being declared right with God? Isn’t that what Jesus taught? Was the purpose of Christ’s substitutionary atonement to make the Old Testament sacrificial system of ritual and bloodshed obsolete? Was the atonement symbolic and representational, rather than changing anything between us and God?

Comment by David Vickman 10.12.07 @ 2:24 pm

That is a very interesting article. Most of what I know about those incidence comes from Walter Martin and John Ankerberg interviews. I must say it makes sense that MLA was not given a pre-publication of QOD because he was retired. Interesting to see someone who I so greatly disagree with turned into a sympathetic character by the way the SDA church leadership treated him. About all he could do was to circulate letters and that was enough to upset the GC terribly. To think of the technology we have today and how MLA could have spread his ideas as well as how those who held contrary ideas could also confront his views.

Still there seems to be few that really spend the time to delve into these issues. It is interesting that recently on an SDA forum someone posted fundamental belief 11 (the newest fundamental belief added, Growing in Christ as if it was a statement which backed up the idea of last generation sinless perfection. It appears to be an idea that is not only accepted by the fundamentalist but even some progressive types who hold to particular statements of Ellen White. Which as MLA said as you reported in your article all comes down to “Sister White’s leadership.” Just depends upon which quotes a person wants to use.

Comment by Ron Corson 10.12.07 @ 8:50 pm

Unless I have misread them, I have always seen the language of Andreasen’s theology living on in the writings of Herb Douglass, Kenneth Wood and those on the Wesleyan wing of the righteousness-by-faith debates of the 70s and 80s. The essential issue to my view has been the scope of the sanctuary imagery, how far it and in what way should it shape Adventist spirituality. But I sure hope that as a community we have moved beyond such narrow visions. After all, we are now a pluralistic and largely Gentile church for whom the intricacies of the ancient Hebrew cult are only one way of figuring the meaning of the Christ-event, and even less signifiicant for the question of who we are now and how we can live a social ethic of inclusiveness … just the opposite of what these sanctuary theologies have meant. But maybe someone can show us how to reinterpret all this in a way that offers something liberating and transformative.

Comment by Graeme Sharrock 10.13.07 @ 4:32 am

Andreasen used, albeit imperfectly, the avenues then available to him, to try to address the doctrinally illegitimate book. Adventism was treading new ground: doctrinal innovations not approved by the world church were being publically offered in the denomination’s name. It is remarkable what Andreasen accomplished against the enormous odds offered by pro-institution attitudes in the culture and in the church at that time. LK

Comment by Larry Kirkpatrick 10.14.07 @ 4:43 pm

What a wonderful read- thanks!!

Do you think that Andreasen was reacting to personal slights as much as any perceived doctrinal dispute?

I can’t help but think that if Froom would have engaged those who disagreed with him in reviewing QOD perhaps Andreasen would not have reacted this way.

My second question is- was QOD reviewed by anyone known to be antagonistic to it before its publication?
Thanks!

Comment by Johnny A. Ramirez 10.23.07 @ 2:26 pm

Church politics can be very interesting, invigorating, and enlightening! And it can be very very sad and disillusioning! The story of M.L. Andreasen is all of the above. By the way, his book on Hebrews is fascinating, and sheds light on the above controversy!

If the administrative actions of the church were clearly and distinctly separated from theological differences and personalities, it might avoid hard feelings. If someone is causing problems for the church while getting paid by the church, it shouldn’t be suprising that when they repeatedly bite the hand that feeds them, that they may need to eat somewhere else!

Another distantly related Questions on Doctrine story is that of Dr. Desmond Ford. The Ford situation is an example of someone airing the church’s dirty linen in public, and seeking revolutionary rather than evolutionary change. It should have been no surprise that the plug was pulled! Although I think the church did it in a very shabby manner! Even if Ford had a better idea, he introduced it in a way sure to cause mass confusion!

By the way, has there been a convincing answer to Ford’s 1,000 page Daniel 8:14 The Day of Atonement and the Investigative Judgement? Little did I know that when I walked into Irwin Hall at P.U.C. on Oct. 27, 1979, that I was about to witness history in the making! Mark Martin had told me it would be another 1888…but I didn’t believe him!

If someone is working for a corporation, and causing lots of problems, they usually get fired…even if they’re right!

Comment by David Vickman 10.31.07 @ 4:33 pm

Let’s be careful. Who is the church? Is it a handful of men (Froom/Read/Anderson/Figuhr et al), or, in this specific case of QOD, is it the vast bulk of the denomination which had been nurtured for long years on the Daniel and Revelation emphasis, cleansing in 8:14, the written works of EGW from GC to DA to COL, to the more than a dozen volumes from the pen of Andreasen that appeared in the decades preceding QOD? If anyone’s theology represented the church in 1957, it was Andreasen.

Comment by Larry Kirkpatrick 10.31.07 @ 7:36 pm

Larry, your 2 comments were helpful, and reflect experience. With the church steeped in Andreasen ’style’ theology, one would expect that QOD and its supporters would be on the outside, looking in. In my last comment, I didn’t wish to be shrill. It’s just that in the pursuit and defense of the ‘truth’ one must be savy regarding organizational realities which apply to both secular and sacred organizations, and are sometimes arbitrary and harsh. Perhaps trench-warfare should be avoided!

Also, a devotional study of Adventist literature yields a much different view than say an Adventist/Evangelical conversation or debate. One has to wonder how much the ‘other side’ wishes to learn and change their thinking, and how much the ‘other side’ wishes to silence the unique aspects of Adventism…

Comment by David Vickman 11.05.07 @ 2:32 pm

David,
I’ve been pondering your reference to “the other side.” I guess I think there is “an other side” but that mostly, we are, intentionally, on the same side. That is, those who might disagree with me doctrinally I take to disagree on the basis of their fairly certain sense that their view is more right according to what God wants for His people, than *what they think* my view of what is right is. I think that many Adventists, even ones seen as being on radically different ends of the Adventist pole, have similar desires and intentions to advance the kingdom. We disagree on how. Some think ew must radically abandon certain aspects of Adventism, or radically modify them. Others think that modification can occur within the range of conventional Adventist doctrinal understanding. A lot of our arguments come out of these different senses about how we should go forward. There certainly are some who are intentional about going far beyond appropriate change. In the end, then, yes, we are not all on the same side. But, perhaps more than we have thought, we are on the same side.

I noticed while we were at QOD Conf, and later over at SpectrumBlog, that many of the arguments offered against LGT are opposition not to LGT but to caricatures of it. I see something hopeful in this, in that perhaps our views of truth are not so far apart from each other as to be unreconcilable. Nevertheless, it will take a high volume of energy and kindly spirit to attain significant restoration of unity in our midst. Perhaps one of the earlier tasks is to persuade the broader “left” and “right” constituencies that treating the other wing as genuine family has value. It remains a question how much time this will take (perhaps a lot!) and whether the various parties in the church can be persuaded to be intentional about it.

Comment by Larry Kirkpatrick 11.05.07 @ 4:01 pm

Johnny: To your 2 questions - (1) Yes, it’s quite clear that Andreasen felt personally slighted (I try to show this in my diss.); and (2) there were a couple of strong criticisms of the QOD manuscript–the key one coming from Raymond Cottrell. Cottrell was downright prophetic in his remarks.

Larry: I really appreciate your last comment. Not only in what you say but through who you are, you set a beautiful testimony to the power of LGT.

Comment by Julius 11.05.07 @ 5:23 pm

Probably because of the recent death of my father, I’m having an emotionally and spiritually tough time with all of this. At least two things haunt me.

One of these is that the “sins” of Elder Andreasen appear to have been those of an elderly man who was emotionally out-of-control whereas those of Froom, Anderson and Reed [sp.?] appear to me to have been calculating, cold and even cruel. But it seems to me that today Andeasen gets the worse press.

The other thing is that a number of “historic Adentists” like my father, who don’t include me in their circle of collegues for excellent reasons, have long doubted the historical reliability of QOD1 and have been harshly criticized for doing so, though not more harshly than were their criticisms of the volume in the first place.

But now the annotations in QOD2 establish beyond reasonable doubt that their historical criticisms of QOD1, though not necessarily their theological ones, which are matters for a different discussion, were right all along.

One response is that Elder Andreasen distorted the evidence too. But did he do so on the same scale, with the same coolness, and with the same virtual approval of the General Conference President and the Editorial Board of those who published QOD1? I doubt this.

So, all in all, I think that neither side was without its shortcomings but that, as is often the case in my view, those of the relatively powerful are more troublesome than those of the relatively powerless.

But that was then and this is now. How sadly ironic it would be if the recent QOD Conference healed some wounds for many and ripped some wide open for me! Somehow, I must find the moral strength not to let this happen. But I think I’m losing the battle.

I don’t know if those who read this believe in intercessory prayer, something that often puzzles me. But if you do, please keep me in mind. I’m struggling.

Comment by David R. Larson 11.07.07 @ 11:19 am

I remain perplexed as to why some who also objected to QOD, albeit more privately, get so little attention.

These certainly include Elders Paul Heubach, Graham Maxell, Malcolm Maxwell, Dalton Baldwin and Jack Provonsha.

Although I am a little less certain of this, I believe the list should be expended to include Elders Arthur Bietz, Donald Lotzenheiser, Fred Osborne and to some degree David and Daniel Cotton. I had a good chat with Dan at the Andrews University QOD Conference.

It would be interesting to interview Elder Harold Fagel on this because he might have a clear picture of what was going on at that time at La Sierra. He is Calvin Tomsen’s father in law.

What about Elders Cecil Hausler and Royal Sage? I suspect that Elder Walter Specht remained aloof but that his tendencies leaned the other way.

Then there is a whole generation of younger SDA theologians [who are now older!] who never paid any attention to QOD. I suspect that a survey of the members of the Adventist Society for Religious Studies, and even the Adventist Theological Society, would reveal that very few have ever opened its covers.

Something I recently read stated that every congregation and person in our denominaton must eventually choose to be “for” or “against” Andreasen’s theology and that this choice is likely to split the denomination right down the middle. I don’t see things this way.

There are many possible reactions to Andreaen and many possible reactions to QOD and by far the most common one, and perhaps wisest one, is to ignore them both. Besides, the way our denomination is organized and administered makes splinters possible, but not splits.

I’m giving myself till this Sabbath to comment on all this; however, once its begins on Friday evening my vow of silence about QOD begins.

The utter injustice of so much of what happened on all sides is what tempts me to be bitter. This is a temptation to which I am determined not to yield, however.

Comment by David R. Larson 11.07.07 @ 1:59 pm

Thank-you for your articulate honesty Dr. Larson. To quote Rodney King, “can’t we just get along?” Or at least be nice when we don’t? Also, fence riders form splinter groups!

Could someone out there in cyberspace put together an impartial biographical summary of the 100 most interesting Adventists of the past 100 years? Neither digging up nor covering up whatever dirt is there. Please!

Comment by David Vickman 11.08.07 @ 12:28 am

I enjoyed your comments Julius. As has been mentioned there are few who have any idea about the story behind QOD.
Julius, you wrote of M L Andreasen,
“His final five years made him a pitied figure who lost the high respect he commanded from his active years as a professor and administrator.”
I guess that depends on how you look at it. I, for one, hardly see him as someone to be pitied. He was a man of conviction who was not willing to compromise. In the eyes of many he is a hero for retaining what many consider to be pillars of our faith. I think that we can all agree that Elder Andreasen certainly could have been kinder in how he opposed what he saw as error and compromise.
As Pastor Larry said,
“I noticed while we were at QOD Conf, and later over at SpectrumBlog, that many of the arguments offered against LGT are opposition not to LGT but to caricatures of it. I see something hopeful in this, in that perhaps our views of truth are not so far apart from each other as to be unreconcilable.”
Dialogue is essential but it must be engaged in it with a genuine desire to know what we really believe and teach and not just attacking one another and misrepresenting their position by setting up straw man arguments to beat down. Hopefully the recent QOD Conference has set the stage for that to begin.
Dr. Larson I think we need to understand where Froom, Figuhr and the others on that side were coming from. Virtually all of Christendom at that time considered SDAs a dangerous cult. To have such influential evangelical leaders as Donald Barnhouse and Walter Martin defending us was a tremendous step forward so I think that, although they were clearly not entirely up front and honest, we should not judge them too harshly.
I am unapologetically in agreement with the theology of Elder Andreasen when it is properly understood. He never taught some kind of “sinless perfection” as he has been accused of.
I have been finding more and more that when I speak with others in a casual setting that many who I felt were far from me theologically are actually quite close.
God Bless,
Bob

Comment by Bob Burke 11.10.07 @ 5:31 pm

Very well written article on the history of the subject. Appreciate your work very much and would hope that you make your whole study available online soon.

The recent activities and interest in this subject is important. While I disagree with Andreason’s teaching on the gospel, I believe he was correct in his understanding that the book QOD was very injurious to our church and applaud his effort to stop its publication. It was very sad that the church did not resolve the issues in a proper manner. It makes one appreciate the fact that he has no credential to suspend.

The issues regarding our faithfulness as a church to Bible doctrine remain. The conference on QOD sheds light on this failure in church leadership. My prayer is that all may see that there is a very serious problem in our church in regards to theology and the lack of unity that Christ prayed that we would have.

If we had been faithful as a people, admitted our failures and learned from them, and walked in the light as Jesus is in the light, we would have gone home long ago. Let us seek wisdom from God’s Word, not from the multitude of books written to explain what the Bible says. We need an individual experience with Christ. We need to drink from the pure fountain that has been opened to us, not the polluted fountains that are so highly exalted.

Where can one obtain Andreason’s letters to the church?

Comment by Richard Myers 11.16.07 @ 11:12 am

Sorry for the interruption…

Recently, you posted here on your blog, “There’s more to Adventism than the revolving door, the theological turf wars, the institutional malaise, and the massive missiological machine. [Bull & Lockhart] discounted true believers and devoted members of the household who, according to [their] thesis, should be in the pre-exit phase of their Adventist experience but are up there in the attic, down in the basement, underneath the kitchen sink—working. It’s not that we don’t know what’s going on in the world; it’s not that we can’t make it out in the world; it’s not that we don’t understand the socio-anthropological dynamics and dysfunctionalities that continue to shape and inform our community. Yet we’ve stayed. . . ”
Unfortunately, I came too late to comment before you closed that thread, but I just had to tell you, “Thanks.” You said something that rings very true to my experience.

Now, back to what everyone else was talking about….

Comment by Jim Miles 12.01.07 @ 8:20 am

As Bob Burke hinted at, one question that would be interesting to ask regarding this is this. Was the price paid since the publishing of QOD worth the cost of not being automatically part of a cult trinity together with Mormons and Jehovas Witnesses in the minds of most of our brothers and sisters in other denominations?

Comment by Thomas 12.04.07 @ 4:24 pm



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